It's the thought
by Tuliharja
Summary: Sakura gets an early birthday present which isn't exactly what she wanted. Magic AU. One-shot. R&R!


Title: _It's the thought_

Author: _Tuliharja_

Summary: _Sakura gets an early birthday present which isn't exactly what she wanted. Magic AU. One-shot. MadaTobi_

Disclaimer: _Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I'm merely writing fan fiction about it. I don't either own the cover art of this._

Author's note: _I wanted to write about 'old' magic beliefs/customs, so I took influence from __old folklores and 'The Ancient Magus' Bride' manga._

_Thank you Vampy Kitty for betaing this._

* * *

**~*It's the thought*~**

"I can't understand _why_," a pink-haired girl breathed out, shaking her head as she gazed down.

She could feel the gnawing sensation under her skin, crawling all across her arms, making her want to squirm. It was becoming a bit too much for her to bear, despite the fact she had managed to gain perfect control over her magic. But this was only temporary. She knew she was going to explode sooner or later.

A puff of smoke made her gaze briefly at her precious mentor. She watched as he formed another wispy puff of smoke that took the shape of rabbit. Eyes sparkling, Sakura's eyes followed the rabbit as it rushed across the inner court, just to disappear when it hit the stone wall.

"This is all very new, Sakura. You've got to understand it takes normal humans time to adjust and accept certain aspects what comes to magical beings. Especially now when technology has all but replaced old beliefs," Tobirama explained as he placed the kiseru next to him.

Sakura couldn't help but stare at the tattoos visible all over his body. The first ones were lines just below his eyes, reminiscent of long tear-marks that disappeared underneath the yukata's neckline. There was also a similar tattoo on his chin, but it looked more like a cut than a tattoo.

Shifting her gaze, Sakura looked to her mentor's hands.

The fingers were long and delicate looking, yet there weren't yet any tattoos on them. Instead there were tattoos on the back of his hands in multiple small sun designs. There were also fresh tattoos on his palms, multiple circles inside each other with a few dots.

Sakura remembered what Tobirama had told her, when he would get there tattoos he would get Mehndi ones to show his status as taken man. It had send Sakura into a reading frenzy about the topic where she had learned some Hindu women and men would take henna designs to their hands when they would get married to someone. The whole thing had been awfully sweet from Sakura's mind, especially considering the fact Tobirama would soon be married to his fiancé Madara.

Thinking on that still made Sakura's heart swell from happiness, as her mentor deserved all the joy he could get. He had, after all, survived longer than any known Observer. But then again, his mentor had been first one to realize the power of magical tattoos and using those to one's advantage. Tobirama's brilliance gave other Observers like Sakura hope to live past their twentieth birthday.

That's why it was absolutely important that her parents understand she needed a tattoo. That was all she was talking about to them lately as her birthday was approaching.

No, she didn't want a dog. No, she didn't want a new pretty dress. She wanted a tattoo. One that would decorate her face. Sakura had come to this resolution when her mentor had talked about his first tattoos. He too had gotten his first tattoos on his face and frankly speaking, Sakura couldn't imagine her mentor without them there. The tattoos just made him look charming.

Sakura made a sound of frustration.

"But just having a tattoo doesn't even mean it's related to magic, even though it is in this case," Sakura huffed to the white-haired man who gently patted her head. "Sensei! I'm not a kid anymore! I'll turn sixteen. Sixteen!"

"There is still that 'teen' part in it," Tobirama pointed out dryly, making Sakura puff her cheeks like the child she was trying not to be. Chuckling lightly, Tobirama ruffled Sakura's hair, earning him a growl in return.

She continued on her rant for a while, before eventually going silent. A sad look crossed her green eyes, causing Tobirama to reach out and cup her cheek. The touch was a gentle and reassuring one, which Sakura was depending on.

The whole fit about her parents keeping her from getting a tattoo wasn't just about that, but also the fact she was scared to get older. Each day that she survived felt like a miracle to her as she knew the older she got, the changes of her magic ripping her apart became higher. No matter how much mental training she did, she knew it could only take her so far.

The silence that had settled between them was suddenly broken by a shoji screen opening. Neither Sakura or Tobirama had to turn and look who it was. They had already sensed it before the door's opening by the warm and rebellious magic.

The newcomer sat close to the duo, before leaning toward Sakura's mentor and planting a kiss to his cheek. The person was none other than Uchiha Madara, Tobirama's fiancé and soon-to-be-husband.

Tobirama leaned unconsciously against Madara as if wanting more. This made Sakura chuckle, yet she bit back her laughter when she noticed Madara's stern look that screamed 'not a word'. Tobirama leaned his cheek against Madara's lap, shifting to become comfortable. Sakura turned fully to the Uchiha, who was holding what looked like a giant pillow. Yet Sakura realized it wasn't any ordinary pillow, but a dakimakura.

Eyes widening, she could only stare the pillow, before she slowly looked at Madara. The man still had his usual grumpy look upon his features, despite the fact Tobirama was close to him and obviously softening his mood. But it still felt very out of place to see Madara holding a dakimakura pillow in one hand while her mentor was using the Uchiha as a personal pillow. It almost looked like a child's safety blanket the way Madara was holding it.

But before Sakura could open her mouth and ask if Madara was closet anime fan or had just gone mad, the man pushed the pillow at her. Blinking her eyes several times, Sakura looked at the soft dakimakura. The image on the pillow made her sweat drop as she moved it next to her.

"Since you're so worried about your powers destroying you, Tobirama and I decided to find a solution," Madara told Sakura, whose look morphed into one of shock.

"How…how is a body pillow going to help anything?!" she screeched, making her hair float in the air from her magic while her skin started to glow.

"Sakura, calm down," Tobirama said, his hands firmly placed upon Sakura's shoulders to soften her anger. "Allow Madara to explain."

Taking a deep breath and breathing out slowly, Sakura concentrated on reeling in her magic, before the whole neighborhood's familiars came rushing up to them. Some of them were already inching closer but stopped when they spotted Madara.

The Uchiha revealed his wrist that was made of iron, consequence of a magic incident that had gone wrong in the past. Madara's whole left arm from shoulder to his wrist was made of pure iron while the hand was charred and black. Sakura had only seen Madara's hand once as he usually covered it with a glove.

Iron was like a poison to most familiars and he was the reason why they stayed at bay long enough for Sakura to regain her control. Once she did so, the dark-haired man pulled his sleeve back down to block the iron.

"So…dakimakura," Sakura half stated, and half asked as she shifted her gaze to Madara. The dark-haired man nodded his head as he pushed the pillow closer to her.

"Tobirama figured your parents wouldn't let you have a tattoo to keep your magic at bay, so naturally he took that as a challenge to come up with another solution. You are turning sixteen after all, which marked the age of an adult in past times," Madara said, his eyes flickering to a quiet Tobirama. A wordless conversation passed between them.

"The day when you turn sixteen will change everything. The powers you've managed to keep at bay so far will rampage and be more…wild. That is your magic's way of telling you to use them," Madara spoke, clearly showing that he cared for the girl.

Even though Madara came across as stiff and unapproachable at times, he still was gentle. Only when he had started to date her mentor had he found a spot to show that gentleness outside of his inner family and friends. Or at least that was what Sakura had heard and Tobirama had confirmed it. Before that she had only heard awful things about Madara, since belonging to the Uchiha family was partially a gift and a curse. It brought many benefits, but also downfalls. Sakura could recall her mentor telling her it was nature's way to balance things.

"Your powers will come out more easily soon, and the best time for them to disperse is when you're sleeping. It's the state when you're most vulnerable yet most powerful as your mind is free to do whatever it pleases," Madara continued, before glancing Tobirama who nodded his head.

The older one still wasn't used to talking like this, but Sakura didn't mind. Thanks to her sharp mind and vast knowledge, Madara could explain things terribly and she still would more than likely understand. But there were still too many pieces missing from the puzzle for her to fully understand the reason why she was getting a dakimakura.

Sighing, Madara rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You know how that big goofball who is supposed to be Tobirama's brother? Well, he has a garden."

And just like that, the last piece fell into place.

"The body pillow is soil and I'm the planter, while my magic is the sun and water," she stated as Madara glanced at Tobirama.

"That's mostly correct."

Tobirama finally joined the conversation, nodding his head as he flashed to his fiancé brief smile. It was extremely warm and charming, making the Uchiha hide his face behind his hair.

Sakura's mentor merely chuckled at this, as he shifted his look back to Sakura once again.

"The body pillow is made such a way it will absorb any nearby magic that doesn't have any sense or direction. It'll store it for later use," Tobirama explained to Sakura. "Even if your magic would go into full-scale rampage and make you magically exhausted, the body pillow will then act as a battery that you can use to absorb it back. Some magic users have similar objects to undertake larger magic performances, but in those cases other magic casters can usually use that magic too. This body pillow is designed specifically for you, so no one else can use it. Even if you got separated from it, you can still use it as distance battery. At the moment the distance is one kilometer. We are still working it, though…"

Sakura listened, amazed that her mentor had created such an object. He quickly started to ponder aloud what other possibilities such objects could have in future and how to make them better. It all turned into white noise as Sakura dropped into deep thought. She shook her head to get rid of the fog and threw her body toward her mentor and his fiancé. Hugging the two men closely, she let out delighted laughter.

"_Thank you_," she said warmly, chuckling at her mentor who had frozen from the sudden hug. Madara hugged Sakura back and gestured for Tobirama do the same thing. "I'm grateful from your present."

"In that case I suppose congratulations are in order," Madara said in gruff voice, making Sakura lift her head to look up at the pair. The two men shared a brief look, before saying in unison: "Happy early birthday, Sakura."


End file.
